Interested in xeric gardening or gardening with native plants? Susan Peterson, a WSU master gardener who manages the Natives N ‘More garden at Community Education Garden in Wenatchee, gave me some tips on how to start a home garden and choose plants.
- Before you start your garden, do a little planning. Ask yourself what you like. Flowers? Vegetables? A natural landscape? Shadow? Create a digital file or folder for your garden and collect photos and clippings of ideas and colors you love. Some of the plants you love won’t work for the climate you find yourself in, but you can use the characteristics of those plants to research which ones will.
- Evaluate the site you are working with to determine what will work best. Depending on where you live in the Wenatchee area, your garden may have a lot of sand, rocks, heavy clay, or sun exposure. You can also test your soil to find out what you are working with.
- Once you’ve gathered ideas and learned more about your site, design your landscape. “It’s like designing a house,” said Susan. Think about where you want to walk, what your lifestyle and space requires, and how much time you can spend in your garden.
- For inspiration from gardens with native plants, head to Riverfront Park Xeriscape Garden, where you’ll find plenty of examples of plants that aren’t picky. Check out the Washington Native Plants Society for ideas and visit the Community Education Garden for many examples of fire-resistant, xeric, and deer-resistant plants.
- See the plants Susan recommended for the Wenatchee area in the responses to this post!